Highway funds, parking plans promise Port relief

Relief for commuters is coming from several directions, according to Port Jervis Mayor Kelly Decker, including bridge repair and replacement and parking and train fares.

Jessica Cohen

Relief for commuters is coming from several directions, according to Port Jervis Mayor Kelly Decker, including bridge repair and replacement and parking and train fares.

Decker received a letter from Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand saying that President Barack Obama has signed a $10.8 billion highway bill that will make funds available for 10 months to continue highway and bridge construction and repairs, including work on Interstate 84. That work has been vulnerable to delays because of funding shortfalls.

While Decker said the funding may only be a "temporary fix," the news alleviates concerns that construction delays will perpetuate single lane traffic on Interstate 84.

Second Ward Councilman Robert Ritchie said he has repeatedly noted dangerous behavior by motorists approaching the exit to Port Jervis, as they attempt to use the shoulder of the road to get to the exit.

Decker said he also received a letter from the state Metropolitan Transportation Authority about a one-year pilot program to reduce parking fees from $235 to $20 per year to encourage ridership. Since the beginning of the year, ridership has increased by 4 percent, according to the letter.

To increase city parking availability and access to and from the Acre neighborhood, Decker has also been pursuing an arrangement with Metro-North Railroad to install an automatic crossing arm at train tracks near Fowler Street and lease the area beyond the tracks for parking. Cars on Fowler would be able to continue across Jersey Avenue and cross the tracks for parking when the arm is raised. Decker wrote to state Sen. John Bonacic for assistance, and Bonacic wrote to Metro North president Joseph Giulietti in July.

As for the long-awaited replacement of the deteriorating Neversink Bridge, Decker said that he and corporation counsel William Bavoso and Department of Public Works head Jack Farr met with state Department of Transportation representatives to determine a "realistic timeline." They estimated that construction will start at the end of 2015 or beginning of 2016.